//------------------------------// // 14- Devilish Dervish // Story: Applegate // by Flutters Is Shy //------------------------------// By the confused looks I was getting, I could tell I wasn't going to gain any traction as I currently was. And I sure as hell didn't want to gain the ire of another Q(if there were more than one, I couldn't put anything past him), So I began the morph back to my normal self. Wings melted and disappeared into my sides, the pink shock of hair hanging in front of my eyes sucked itself back into my scalp and returned to its normal brown shade. By the end, I was standing at my total height of 5'9, a look of disgust to be seen on the Twilight that was here, as well as...some sort of zebra pony. Dante Friggin Sparda however, he had a huge smile on his face, and stepped forward to greet me with an outstretched hand. "Hello other Dimensional guy!" Yeah, that was definitely the voice I had heard echoing in my head. "Names Dante!" Yep. He looked exactly like he did in the games, white long hair(not as young as he was in the third game, not as old as he was in the first.) and red clothes. (his coat was on the ground, for some reason.) "Wade Jallecks. Nice to meet you. Gimmie a second," I doubled over, the feeling of two morphs apparently enough to waylay me, but not enough to have the effect of the day previous. I looked at my watch, which by this point read, "13... wow that's low." I tapped on the surface of the stone twice, bringing up the fuel gauge display. it was almost completely dark, the vestiges of white light only showing showing three bars on the left side. "Sorry, this is just REALLY tiring. I already morphed twice today, I think I only have one more in me. So, you said you wanted to talk?" Twilight looked as if she was about to say something, but Dante beat her to the punch. He covered her mouth, and then grabbed his sword and coat off the floor. With a stylish flourish, he wrapped it around his shoulders and waved to me. "LETS GOOOO!!!" And with that he ran out the front door. I took a few seconds to give Twilight and Zebra-pony an apologetic look, "I'm...sorry. It was nice meeting you, but it looks as if I have to go?" With a sheepish grin (although if I was honest, I wasn't really all that enthusiastic about having to deal with another Twilight, so whatever. It was all for the best.) I slipped out the front door, and ran after the white haired half demon. Or I tried to. I was still kinda winded, and I never was that athletic. He actually had stopped a little ways ahead, and was waiting for me with a 'are you kidding me?' look on his face. I caught up to him, and stated my opinion. "I have a desk job, don't really get out all that much..." "You really should start working out. The life of a...what are we called? Whatever. The life of us that were ripped from our dimensions are never easy. Why five minutes into arriving I had to shoot some ponies leg, kick a guy over a mountain, and figure out I was a thousand years before the show even started!" A thousand years? Dang. Guess it kinda made sense, seeing as he was...now immortal? Or as much as a half demon could be? I guess. "First off, screw you. Second, Auric called us displaced. Third, WHAT? Thousand years? You've been here that long? And yes. The 'kicking a guy over a mountain' thing does not surprise me. I HAVE played your games before." Oh god I was talking to Dante I was talking to Dante! I was talking to Dante Dante Dante! Well, a guy that looked like him, but still. Awesome. "Heh, and you wondered why everyone hates you? Have you just been going around shooting everyone you meet?" "Who's Auric? Anyway yes I've been here a thousand years been frozen in stone by Sunbutt." he chuckled "A demon locked within the Sword of Sparda possessed her a thousand years ago, and drove her mad. She killed my mare friend (don't you dare laugh), and many other innocent ponies, and placed the blame on me, and guess what they believe her like the mindless drones they are. I'm planning a revolt to try, and exercise the demon, and set things right...Clover would be proud..." He started to cry and I was hit by a feeling of disconnect. This was Dante, blubbering like a schoolboy. Guess he really cared for this...mare. I guess if you're immortal, you end up finding kinship in those around you(regardless of species boundary). I stepped forward, and put what I thought of as a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I've never been in love. So I sure as hell have no way to be honest and say 'I know what you're going through', or 'I know how you feel'. But I sure as shit aint gonna belittle that feeling." I laughed, a hollow, dead laugh. "If you need my help, I'll gladly give it. I'm not sure how much of a help I'd be against a demon or whatever though... Anyway, about Auric." I pulled out the gold coin that Auric called his 'token' and showed it to Dante. "This is the token of the guy named Auric. He seems to know whats going on, what with the multiverse and such. Last time I talked to him he seemed a bit busy though...so basically..." "Auric's the pony that lives in a golden coin." Dante wiped his eyes with his coats sleeve, and took a look at the coin "A bit small for a living place dontcha think?" he said, and I could tell he was just putting on a brave front. Trying to act if though he was no longer upset. "Anyway thanks for that...I needed someone to talk too...now how to repay you..." He massaged his head for a second, looked like he was deep in thought, then snapped his fingers "I know!" He let out a bestial roar, and a burst of air billowed off of him. When I was able to look at him again, he had changed. He had apparently activated his Devil Trigger. His hands were now sleek metal claws, and his coat looked kinda different. "I'll allow you to acquire my demon form!" "Not really sure that'd work. So far, my morphs seem to be the bare bones original forms. We can still try, though..." I placed a hand on his ... huh. He didn't really have any...flesh in this state. His head looked like a helmet, his eyes a deep yellow. "Not really sure if this is going to work, seeing as you don't have any skin..." I placed a hand on his forehead, and it felt exactly like polished metal. I started, and he actually fell into the acquiring trance. Son of a gun, it actually works on someone. I removed my hand, but it still took him a couple seconds to shake himself out of his daze. "Isn't that...temporary? Or at the very least limited? And now you've kinda wasted it..." Well, in the games it was on a timer. "Nah" He just waved it off, "I've mastered the demon form, and can hold, and re use it for weeks at a time...hey did you notice the flux in your natural energy?" "No, can't say I did." I brought the watch up to take a quick look. Just because I hadn't noticed anything, didn't mean it didn't happen. "Nineteen. So it went up? Wait... did I just suck magic off of you?" I did a double take at my horrible phrasing. "No homo." He seemed to regain a bit of jovial nature, and laughed it off. "No, the demon form just has an abnormal amount of magic in it so it probably transferred a small amount into you. Keep training that form, and the amount will increase." "So basically just keep on like I've been doing. You've got a lot in common with Twilight, honestly." I looked at my surroundings, and asked what was on my mind. "So what now?" "Lemme take a second to figure out how to make a token..." He concentrated for a second, then held out a hand. After a minute of waiting there is a flash, and a silver bell with skulls printed on each face appeared in his hand "Okay now my phrase...Hello I am Dante. Half demon son of Sparda like you I am displaced, and I'm only looking to help. Ring once, and call my Name to summon me...that is all." He then handed the bell to me. I had to learn that trick. Auric wasn't going to be around to babysit me, and this guy sounded like he had his own suite of problems to deal with. I'd ask Auric to distribute the token(I sure as heck had no idea how to, and I bet this guy didn't either)...when he wasn't busy. He seemed kinda stressed back at the farm...come to think of it, how would one even go about setting water on fire? I took the bell(The summon he had just chanted echoed in my head. Guess that worked for him.) and tucked it into my pocket. It was surprisingly easy, given the size of the bell. "And you already have mine. I got no idea how to 'scatter this upon the void' or whatever Auric said," I had chosen to throw up a few 'quotation marks' for my own satisfaction, "But if you want, I could call him once I get back or see if my Twilight knows anything about how to do that. She probably doesn't, though..." "Oh you gotta summon me to your world one day. It would be epic to see a Equestria that wasn't lead to falsely hate me!" "I'll definitely call you if I run into a fight. Not sure how everyone would react to you...Annoying Pink would probably get excited over a 'new Wade' or something. If the pink one sets her sight on you, run. She has no sense of personal space, and she'll invite you to a party. If she's at all like mine." I shrugged, not really sure where to go with this. "Its been pretty peaceful so far. Except for Q. Don't mess with Fluttershy, Q will mess you up." "Q?...you mean Discord? The prick left me to stay petrified! As for the Pinkie one...I kinda always wanted a 'Welcome To Ponyville Party! It was one of my expectations...fucking Celestia..." "You can take the party if they offer it to you. Knowing the pink one, its only a matter of time. And no, I meant Q. The guy from star trek? I mean, he didn't look like he did on the show, he kinda looked like a horse dragon mishmash. He had a horse head, pony head if you want to be all technical, two mismatched horns, and then four different limbs. He's also super protective of Fluttershy, for some reason." I paused for a second, gathering my thoughts. "So, what are you going to do about your Celestia? I'm not sure how much help I'd be against something like that. I do know a couple exorcism chants from Supernatural, but even with us running around crazy pony land," I gestured to Dante, " and actual demons being a 'real thing'. Not sure if that'd help." "I just need to use Yamato to sever the spiritual link between Celly, and the demon, and everything will be fine, and his name is Discord. He is just voiced by the same guy as Q." "John Delancie voices a guy on My Little Pony? Damn, might have actually watched it if I knew that... So, game plan. You have everything you need to do that?" "Yep," He said as he drew Yamato, a wicked looking katana. It was then I felt a pulling, a hook in my midsection. I slipped backwards and....fell out of the universe. Even though I went backward, I still managed to do a ten point landing, right on my face again. It was a slight wonder that I hadn't broken my nose by this point. I was...back in Fluttershy's house. And a broken shaft of wood was sticking into my shoulder. "Holy shit that's a wicked splinter," I said, wincing as Fluttershy (and Twilight, somehow. Where the heck did she come from?) both gasped in over the top comedic ways. Fluttershy rushed off to get a first aid box as Twilight got up in my face. "Where were you? Why'd you have to go and worry Fluttershy like that? How did you come back? And...are you allright?" Oh hey, finally a note of concern. "Well. Besides the horrendous pain in my shoulder, -which somehow hurts less than my face- I'm doing fine. I got a burst of energy while I was over there, so I should be fine." I started to morph, and felt as the shards of wood started to melt off through my skin. Scales formed and covered me, as my hair shrunk back into my head and hardened. By the end I was a whole, uninjured baby dragon. Fluttershy looked a bit disappointed that I didn't have need for her medical skills, but relieved by that same fact. I was a bit worried about the wood not leaving my shoulder mid morph, but it had all turned out for the best. "Spike?" Twilight asked. Seems she had forgotten about this morning. "Yeah, I acquired him this morning, remember? I thought this would be a little less suspicious than another pony walking around without a butt mark, ya know?" "Cutie mark." Twilight corrected. "I refuse to call it that. And if me and Spike-" "Spike and I."she corrected again. "...Spike and I. If WE were to be seen in the same location, I could just claim to be a relative of his, right?" I looked up at both Twilight and Fluttershy, a thought niggling its way to the forefront of my mind. "Its kinda disconcerting, to be shorter than everyone in the room, though." She laughed at this. "Well, I'm sure we could say that...Its not like anypony in town has an inkling of draconic biology. You'll have to ask... Pinkie Pie." "Why would I have to ask Pinkie Pie?" I asked, suddenly feeling a minor weight descend on my shoulders as a familiar envelope dipped down over my head into my line of sight. "I think that was more of a 'Oh look, there's Pinkie Pie!' instead of an 'Ask Pinkie Pie.' kinda statement. Oh, almost forgot, do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?" Oh hey. Annoying Pink was apparently standing directly over me. On me, actually. Her hooves were placed lightly on my shoulders, her head arched over mine. How she had done that I have no idea, I was standing with my back to a wall. There wasn't a window or door she could have come through, and I think both Fluttershy and Twilight were just as confused as I was. "Umm...vanilla?" I definitely liked it more than chocolate. But why did she want to know? "Cool! Oh, and show up as the first pony I saw you as, okay?" She got off of me and walked over to Twilight, leaning over and fake whispering as loud as she could. "We ARE still hiding the existence of huuuuumans, right?" Wait, what? I'd been hiding because I didn't want to create a panic... "Well, yes. Its a delicate situation. There are some more...radical groups that would probably do something...rash. If they learned that humans weren't just a creature from mythology, but walking among us. No offense Wade, its honestly for your benefit above all else." Well then. glad to see that not only humans could be the ones to go gonzo over new things. Hell, if a pony showed up in Michigan, it'd probably be dissected before the day was out. "No offense taken. So, whats my cover story? Even if I morph the wonder twins, I'll still be lacking the butt mark. And you're crazy if you think I'll just be going around town all the time as that. The second I get a male morph," I paused, to gesture at my current form, "current one excluded, I mean a pony version. The second I get one I'm comfortable with, that'll be my main go to." "Actually, about that. I was actually thinking that your cover story could be that you had an accident concerning changeling magic. That would explain why you'll randomly look like other ponies, and why you don't have a cutie mark. Unfortunately," she paused, watching as Pinkie Pie bounced out the open door. Off to do who knows what. "We had to include another pony in this deception. She was more than happy to help, but its still another pair of lips that could blab. So try and remember your cover story." I looked at her for a few seconds. "Which is? Besides the bare bones explanation, cause you know everyone is going to be asking beyond that point." "Oh! You've lived in Manehatton for your entire life, you worked at the Center for Changelings Relations, a magic spell went awry, which is why you can't keep your original form. We'll explain how you used to be male, but because of the changelings in question involved with the spell(which by the way, is how we're going to explain the multilingual spell.) you're now in a semi constant state of flux. Which is why you're in Ponyville, seeing as there's an alicorn and the previous queen of the changelings here, Princess Celestia has given us leave to 'assist' you in returning to normal. Is that satisfactory?" Well. That was a huge lie. This had a HUGE chance of blowing up in our faces. As long as it came from their lips, and not mine. "As long as you're the one to say it. I don't have to go to whatever crazy shindig she has planned, do I?" "Trust me, its better if you go, otherwise she'll hound you for it." Well, shit. I opened the letter with a claw, drawing a sheaf of paper from its depths. With it came an explosion of confetti and...cake batter? Whatever. The letter denoted a surprise party(What was the point of announcing a surprise party?) that was to take place..."Tomorrow?" "Tomorrow?" Twilight and Fluttershy copied, in unison. "Yeah. At least I have some down time. Can I go now?" This seemed to surprise them both, but they both gave me a nod. ~----------------------------------------------------------~ Where DOES the time go? I went back to Twilights castle, and spent the rest of the day reading my kindle. Twilight had spazzed out about it once she got back, going on and on and ON about the implications of a device that could hold hundreds of books. Thank goodness she couldn't read anything on it, so I got to hold onto it. I'd felt sick after dinner, but I'd managed to hold it down. I had a good sleep, although I was woken up in the middle of the night by a HORRENDOUS snoring. It was coming from the direction of Twilights room, but I refuse to believe such sounds could come from someone so dainty and female. By morning she was a chipper little filly, and I was a grumpy little jerk. She left before long with spike(I don't know what she was doing, I never really asked.) I didn't want to spend my day cooped up inside. I morphed Flutterbat, and headed over to the farm.(Raritys 'depression coat' wrapped around me) Applejack and her brother were too busy to interact with me, but Applejack said I could help out if I wanted to. I tried for a bit, learning how to kick trees. (she called it bucking. weird.) I managed to work up a bit of a sweat, and also managed to almost break my leg. It hurt, anyway. An effusive apology from Applejack, a morph back and another back to wondertwins, and I was on my way. She surprisingly hadn't mentioned anything about the barn. Odd. I walked back to Twilights castle, to see if I could scrounge up any lunch. To my surprise, however, I walked into my own surprise party. (haha, surprise. haha.) I was understandably freaked out at first, until Twilight introduce me. She stuck to my...unique cover story, and I actually got sympathetic looks all around. I have to say, I wasn't at all comfortable in this kind of situation. Everyone was LOOKING AT ME. IT WAS AWKWARD AS HELL. Pinkie Pie had the gall to drag me around and introduce me to everyone. I swear, if I heard one more person say anything along the lines of "Oh you poor dear", or "Its going to be okay" or even god forbid the skirted around but still popular "is everything...you know, still there?" I swear I would have screamed. I met some interesting people though. A store owner that ran a 'quills and sofas' store. A lady that WAS a mayor, and was NAMED Mayor Mare. Can't imagine how awkward that one must have been growing up. Twilight, it turns out, was not the only 'alicorn'(I'm still going to call them pegacorns. Alicorn just sounds silly) living in the town. A crosseyed lady who proclaimed herself to be the 'Princess of Muffins' worked as a mailmare for the local postal service.(she handed me the most delicious muffin. From outta nowhere. I should stop being surprised by this place.) As the night went on, Pinkie Pie continued to try and get me converse with people. She kept on pushing me to partake in various games, and to eat more food than what I weighed. All in all, I was very uncomfortable. I eventually snuck away, secreting myself away in my little guest room Twilight oh so helpfully provided. I was really going to have to get a job or something, I couldn't just keep leaching off of her hospitality. "Did you not like my party?" came the dispondant voice from behind me. I whirled on my hooves, and actually managed to keep my balance. Pinkie Pie was sitting on the bed, a sad look upon her face. Gone was her traditional smile, replaced with a deep frown. In a word, she looked broken. "I...didn't like it. No." Her face fell even further." But I appreciate the effort you took to make me feel welcome. Its just that...I don't do well with large crowds. I'm antisocial at best, and you thrust me out of my comfort zone, that's all. Truly, I appreciate the effort. Thank you." At least she didn't look like I had kicked a puppy in front of her. With a sad smile, followed by a quick hug, she left. I went to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow would be less eventful.